Dave Brookes

Dave Brookes is a practising Professional Engineer working in the environmental field. He holds patents on specialised systems designed for the destruction of infectious and hazardous materials and is presently involved with the BSE (mad cow) crisis in Europe. Brookes is a self-taught artist who works almost exclusively with oils. He has been painting for over 30 years, but has only recently started showing his work. After spending a summer with the Kensington Market Collective, he helped organize a Toronto based art gallery, Gallery 215, and played a major role in formulating several shows at this Victoria Street venue.

Dave Brookes is the founder of the Broken Fence Society. He has married his art with his growing concern about environmental degradation to create a visual statement with a clear and disturbing message about our future on this planet. His "Cracks in the Wall" trilogy is based on one of his many environmental poems. The first stanza; Cracks in the wall/Cracks in the floor/Cracks in the ceiling/Like never before; sums up his feelings about the condition of the biosphere. Though he is not optimistic about our chances to turn things around, he believes very strongly that the next few generations must be thoroughly educated about environmental issues and they must be the ones to make the hard decisions about the future of mankind. We can only guide them and teach them the real facts and honest truths.